Forex Market Hours
Live open/closed status for Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York forex sessions. Check overlap windows, UTC hours, and daylight saving shifts.
Forex Market Session Hours
Standard UTC times. London and New York shift by 1 hour during daylight saving — see DST note below.
| Session | Opens (UTC) | Closes (UTC) | Key Pairs | IANA Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 22:00 | 07:00(next day) | AUD/USD, NZD/USD, AUD/JPY | Australia/Sydney |
| Tokyo | 00:00 | 09:00 | USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY | Asia/Tokyo |
| London | 08:00 | 17:00 | EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP | Europe/London |
| New York | 13:00 | 22:00 | EUR/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF | America/New_York |
* Sydney session opens at 22:00 UTC and closes at 07:00 UTC the next calendar day.
The Overlap Windows — Where Volume Spikes
The London-New York overlap is when the two largest FX trading centres are open at once, but its exact UTC hours move with daylight saving on both sides of the Atlantic. The table below uses standard-time UTC hours (roughly November to March) as a reference; see the DST note further down for how the window shifts the rest of the year.
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST (9:00 AM – 1:00 PM EDT in summer) · 5:00 AM – 9:00 AM PST (6:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT in summer) · 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM IST
Both of the two largest FX trading centres are open: London desks are still running while New York opens, so this is typically the busiest window for EUR/USD and GBP/USD, and many scheduled US data releases land in it. The UTC hours shown are for when both London and New York are on standard time; see the DST note below for how the window shifts the rest of the year.
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM AEST · 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM JST
Quieter than the London-New York overlap. Sydney and Tokyo desks are both active, which makes it the main overlap for Asia-Pacific pairs such as AUD/JPY and NZD/JPY.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM JST · 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM BST
Short, but sometimes volatile. European traders opening positions can create quick price moves in JPY pairs as Asian liquidity starts thinning out. It's only a one-hour window before the next session's liquidity takes over.
What Is the Forex Market?
The foreign exchange market doesn't have a central exchange. It's a decentralized, 24-hour global network of banks, brokers, and institutions spread across four major financial centers: Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York. When one closes, the next is already open.
"24-hour market" is technically accurate but misleading. Not every hour is equal. Liquidity — how easily you can execute a trade without moving the price — drops sharply when only one session is active. Spreads widen. Price action slows. Many retail traders pick up positions outside peak hours and wonder why their fills are poor.
The market runs Monday through Friday. It opens Sunday evening UTC (Sydney session) and closes Friday evening UTC (New York close at ~22:00 UTC). There's no forex trading on weekends.
📊 Global FX turnover averaged about $9.5 trillion per day in April 2025, an all-time high. — Bank for International Settlements, Quarterly Review (December 2025)
Each Session, Explained
London Session — 08:00 to 17:00 UTC
The UK (London) handles roughly 38% of global FX turnover on its own, per the Bank for International Settlements' 2025 Triennial Survey, more than any other location.
European pairs such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/GBP are centred on these hours, because that's when European banks and institutions are at their desks.
One wrinkle: the UK observes British Summer Time (BST), shifting the session to 07:00–16:00 UTC from late March to late October. The US observes EDT during a similar but not identical period, creating a brief mismatch in spring and fall — see the DST note below for the exact effect on the London-New York overlap.
New York Session — 13:00 to 22:00 UTC
New York opens at 13:00 UTC in winter (8:00 AM EST) or 12:00 UTC in summer (8:00 AM EDT) — the UTC time shifts with US daylight saving even though the local open stays 8:00 AM. The hours London and New York are both open, whatever the exact UTC window is that time of year, are the highest-volume period of the entire trading week. This is when EUR/USD daily range is most likely to be set.
USD pairs such as EUR/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, and GBP/USD are central here. Scheduled US economic releases (jobs data, CPI, FOMC decisions) come out during New York hours and can move USD pairs sharply.
Once London's session closes for the day, New York keeps trading on its own until its close, typically with lighter activity than during the overlap.
Tokyo Session — 00:00 to 09:00 UTC
Japan's share of global FX turnover is far smaller than the UK's or the US's, but Tokyo hours are when Japanese banks and institutions trade yen pairs such as USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, and GBP/JPY.
The session is sometimes called the "Asian session" — it also includes activity from Singapore, Hong Kong, and other Asian financial centers that don't have their own named session. The Bank of Japan's policy decisions and Tokyo-specific economic data move this window.
Pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/USD are usually quieter during Tokyo hours, unless there's European or US news.
Sydney Session — 22:00 to 07:00 UTC
Sydney opens Sunday at 22:00 UTC — the first session of the forex week. Volume is lightest here, but it's not dead. AUD/USD, NZD/USD, and AUD/JPY are the pairs that actually move during this session.
The Sydney session crosses midnight UTC, which trips up traders calculating hours. It opens at 22:00 UTC Sunday and runs to 07:00 UTC Monday. The overlap with Tokyo (00:00–07:00 UTC) is when both Asia-Pacific centres are open at once.
Australia observes AEDT (UTC+11) in summer and AEST (UTC+10) in winter, so the session shifts slightly depending on the time of year. The IANA identifier Australia/Sydney handles this automatically.
Daylight Saving Time — How It Shifts Forex Hours
The US and UK don't switch their clocks on the same day, so the London-New York overlap actually has three different UTC windows across the year, not one fixed window:
| Period | London (UTC) | New York (UTC) | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both on standard time (roughly Nov–Mar) | 08:00–17:00 | 13:00–22:00 | 13:00–17:00 (4h) |
| Both on daylight time (roughly Apr–Oct) | 07:00–16:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 12:00–16:00 (4h) |
| Mismatch weeks (US on DST, UK still on standard time) | 08:00–17:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 12:00–17:00 (5h) |
The mismatch row happens twice a year, in opposite directions. The US springs forward on the second Sunday of March, about 2-3 weeks before the UK's last Sunday of March switch — during that gap the US is already on EDT while the UK is still on GMT. The UK falls back on the last Sunday of October, about a week before the US's first Sunday of November switch — during that gap the UK is back on GMT while the US is still on EDT. Both gaps land on the same combination (US daylight, UK standard), so the overlap widens to 5 hours in both cases rather than shrinking. Check exact dates for any year at our daylight saving time page.
For traders: late March and late October into early November are the weeks to double-check your session times rather than assume the standard-time table applies. Your broker's market hours calendar will reflect the actual shift, and the live clock at the top of this page always shows today's real session status.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does the forex market open and close?
The forex market opens Sunday at 22:00 UTC (Sydney session start) and closes Friday at 22:00 UTC (New York session end). It's open continuously Monday through Friday with no breaks — though liquidity varies significantly by session.
What is the best time to trade forex?
The London-New York overlap is when the two largest FX trading centres, the UK (roughly 38% of global turnover) and the US (roughly 19%) per the Bank for International Settlements, are open at the same time, so it is typically the busiest window for pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/USD. In UTC it's 13:00-17:00 when both cities are on standard time (roughly November-March) or 12:00-16:00 when both are on daylight time (roughly April-October); it briefly widens to 12:00-17:00 during the few weeks each spring and autumn when the US and UK switch clocks on different dates. In US local time it's always 8:00 AM-12:00 PM Eastern (5:00 AM-9:00 AM Pacific), whether that's EST/PST or EDT/PDT depends on the time of year.
Is forex closed on weekends?
Yes. No forex trading on Saturday. The market closes Friday around 22:00 UTC when New York shuts down, and reopens Sunday around 22:00 UTC with the Sydney session. Cryptocurrency markets trade 24/7; forex doesn't.
Which forex session has the most volume?
London handles roughly 38% of global FX turnover, per the Bank for International Settlements' 2025 Triennial Survey, more than any other location, with the US second at roughly 19%. That's why the hours when London and New York are both open, whatever the exact UTC times are that season, are typically the busiest of the day.
What time is 13:00 UTC in my timezone?
13:00 UTC is 8:00 AM Eastern / 7:00 AM Central / 5:00 AM Pacific in winter (standard time), or 9:00 AM Eastern / 8:00 AM Central / 6:00 AM Pacific in summer (daylight time). It's always 6:30 PM IST, since India doesn't observe DST, and either 11:00 PM AEST or 12:00 AM AEDT (next day) in Sydney depending on Australia's own (opposite-season) daylight saving schedule. Use the Time Zone Converter below to check any specific UTC time in your timezone.